Four sport reporters were killed and eight others were injured when the minibus in which they were travelling was involved in an accident on the R59 outside Alberton on Saturday night, a private emergency company reported.
Henk Venter, a NetCare 911 life-support practitioner, said two critically wounded journalists were airlifted to Chris Hani-Baragwanath, Helen Joseph and Johannesburg hospitals.
The reporters had been in Vanderbijlpark covering the Masakhane games, said Laverne Leibrandt, the spokesperson for the Gauteng sports and recreation department.
She said the journalists, who were returning to Johannesburg, come from various media companies in the country. The Gauteng sport and recreation department hosted the games, which included various sports codes.
The games seek to profile sport at a local community level, culminating in a provincial qualification series.
Speaking at the scene, Leibrandt said the accident occurred at about 6.45pm after a tyre bust. The driver of the minibus lost control of the vehicle and it veered off the road.
The kombi rolled several times before it landed on its roof.
Emergency personnel arrived at the scene promptly and some of those injured were airlifted to various hospitals.
Leibrandt said the department would take full responsibility for the accident as the reporters were invited by the provincial government.
”We will release a statement on this issue later,” she said.
Vaal Rand police spokesperson Captain Shado Mashobane confirmed that four people had died.
The names of the deceased could not be released as their next of kin had not been informed.
Mashobane said some of the injured were taken to Sebokeng hospital.
Police were investigating a case of reckless driving, he said. — Sapa